Last year, we had a baby. A little 10 kilo bundle of love (and pee and poop so it happened). She was and is adorable, our little one- having her even reduced our home insurance premium-where would we be without our Boxer pup Coco?

We accessorised her carefully, choosing the right beds, educational toys etc etc- we were especially careful with her food. What do dogs eat? Everything they are allowed….What SHOULD they eat, that’s another question. A question that was answered by the BARF diet – sounds yummy! Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. She loves it and it loves her.

It did however, raise questions of what is and isn’t biologically appropriate for people too.

One thing we can be sure wasn’t meant for us, is milk from other animals. After all, cows don’t even drink milk as they don’t posess the right substances to break it down and digest it after they have been weaned- cows’ milk is meant for CALVES. Once humans have been weaned, like the cows, majoritively lack the enzymes to absorb nutrients from milk and consumption of dairy resulting in excess acid and mucus in the stomach.

The argument goes further than this however

In countries where they drink less milk, for example in the far east, they have much lower levels of osteoporosis …. That blows the ‘drink milk to strengthen your bones’ argument out of the water

In these countries, they also see far reduced rates of breast and prostate cancer.

Subsequently, Rob and I are largely dairy free (sometimes we have milk in our coffee or a little cheese in our dinner) and this is spreading thoroughout our friends and families. Those that need to see the evidence rather than just read it, have been won over by our smaller waists and less puffy tummies and faces since we laid off the white stuff.

With all this in mind, I still want to entertain, and eat without what feels like compromise. I want dazzling and special food, for me and my guests, I want seductive sauces and impressive main courses, followed by decadent desserts and creamy topped cupcakes, all without the dairy.